Tag: spring cleanups

A healthy summer lawn, begins with spring lawn maintenance. Winter can cause some problems for your lawn like changes in your soils pH levels and soil compaction that will create conditions that are more friendly to both weeds and disease.
As the snow melts and reveals bare spots, snow mold and other problems. Don’t panic, we have a few spring lawn care tips for you.

1) spring Cleanup & Lawn Repair
Once the snow melts and the lawn dries out, lightly rake your lawn, removing any thatch buildup, snow mold, leaves and other debris. This will allow you to get a better idea of any other problems your lawn may have, such as soil compaction and an uneven lawn that will require your attention.
These problems if left as they are will create poor growing conditions for your lawn. Any uneven spots will need to be either filled in or scraped down to help with better drainage.
While any compacted areas will need to be aerated to loosing up the soil, thus creating better soil conditions for the grass plants to grow. If left unattended, both weeds and disease will take over your lawn.

2) Reseeding
After you have done a spring cleanup and have repaired any necessary repairs to your lawn, we suggest that you have your soil tested before reseeding your lawn.
This can be done through your local Co-Operative Extension Office. The soil test will point out any soil deficiencies that may prevent the grass from growing.
Now your ready to reseed your lawn, but don’t forget to regularly water it to maintain the soil moisture needed for the grass seed to grow

3) Fertilizing
Fertilizing your lawn in the spring can encourage your lawn to grow lush and thick. We recommend that you use a slow release nitrogen product once your lawn starts to actively grow.
If you use a fertilizer, be sure to read all the instructions for watering and pounds per 1000sq ft, prior to applying it to your lawn. Overuse of a fertilizer can cause severe damage to your lawn if not used properly.

4) Spring Mowing
Proper mowing height and a frequent mowing schedule are both very important to you lawns health.
Mowing the grass to short is harmful to your lawn and the soil, allowing the soil to dry out and the grass plants to stress out, allowing weeds to take hold and overcome the grass.

5) Lawn Mower Maintenance
Preventative maintenance on your lawn care equipment in the spring with both, save you time and money in the long run.

Be sure to remove any old gas, replacing it with new
Sharpen the blades
Change the oil
Replace air & oil filters
Cleanup the mower deck

These are just a few basic spring lawn maintenance tips to help you give your lawn a great start to the season. We will doing a more in depth articles on these subjects over the course of the spring.

Waiting on some warmer spring days, all in good time they say. The birds are singing, the spring rains are on the way, the snow is melting and I’m sitting here longing for the smell of the fresh cut grass, along with smells of flowers and bark mulch. Yes, spring is a time when all things spring fourth in newness of life.

Soon enough we will be out on the properties doing spring cleanups and starting lawn care here in Maine, as well as landscaping projects, but until then I will use the time given to continue to prepare for the season ahead and start my spring plantings for both the flower and the vegetable gardens.
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